Safer Toilets Bring Better Health, New Business to Tajikistan

September 01, 2017New ventilated improved pit latrines are creating  fresh opportunities for local families.Nineteen-year-old Usmonali Gafurov built a thriving family business doing something he never expected: building toilets.It started when his brother Khurshed began working with Feed the Future ’s Tajikistan Health& Nutrition Activity, which trained him to build ventilated improved pit latrines in their home district of Yovon in southern Tajikistan.Only 7% of households in southern Tajikistan have access to improved sanitation facilities.“After these trainings, we opened a small family business,” Usmonali says, “and I began to help my brother.”Only 7% of households in southern Tajikistan have access to improved sanitation facilities. Most use traditional toilets —often a hole in the ground with two planks of wood over it, no water, and a horrible stench. Feed the Future is training locals such as Usmonali and Khurshed to build safer toilets that reduce the risks to public health and water supplies and improve sanitation and hygiene in the region.The project provided the brothers with metallic molds to produce concrete rings, molds for the bottoms and lids of the toilets, technical guidance, and sketches for their products.Their first order came in mid-February. By the end of May, Usmonali had built and installed 22 safe toilets for his neighbors.“Often the project provides me with informational brochures on safe toilets and instructions on sanitation a...
Source: IntraHealth International - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Source Type: news